History of Tsubame industry

It is said that the Tsubame industry began with the introduction of Japanese nail manufacturing technology, which was started as a side business in rural areas in the early Edo period (Kanei era). In order to improve the situation in rural areas, which was troubled by the repeated floods of the Shinano River, a Japanese nail craftsman was called from Edo, and Japanese nail making was recommended as a side business of farmers, and it spread to the swallow area.

Most of the Japanese nails were transported to Edo via the Tsubame-Sanjo wholesaler. It is said that the production of this Japanese nail contributed greatly to disaster recovery during the Edo earthquake and large fire during the Genna period (1615-1623). Since then, the demand for nails has increased due to the numerous large fires in Edo, and it has become extremely busy.

It is said that there are a thousand nail smiths in the neighborhood, and from the Tokugawa era to the early Meiji era, about 80% of the swallow industry was produced by Japanese nails, and together with Obama City in Fukui Prefecture, it became the home of Japanese nails in the east and west.

 When the Echigo Mase Copper Mine (at the foot of Mt. Yahiko) was opened during the Genroku era (1688-1703), it was a high-quality copper with abundant extensibility, and this Mase copper was used to make copper in swallows. The production of copperware has started. This copperware making uses a technique called swordsmanship, and it is said that this swordsmanship technique was brought to swallow by a copperware craftsman in Sendai. This technique uses a hammer of various sizes to punch a piece of copper plate, creating a seamless copperware. It is highly evaluated as an arts and crafts, and was exhibited at overseas expositions. In 1981, it was designated as a traditional craft by the Minister of International Trade and Industry.

Apart from copperware, the production of files as a tool for sharpening saws began around 1700, and it has become a representative production area like Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. In addition, the production of Kiseru started using Mase's copper, and the metal rolling technology of swallow and the technology of ornaments such as metal engraving have been developed together. A little later, the production of Yatate (travel brush) started.

When Japan came to an end in the isolation era and the port opened at the end of the Edo period, Western European nails began to be imported. At the same time, the production of Western nails began in Japan, and after the 20th year of the Meiji era, Western nails completely dominated the Japanese market, and Tsubame Japanese nails disappeared.

In addition, from the end of the Meiji era to the beginning of the Taisho era, lifestyles and people's tastes changed. In the heyday of the Taisho era, Kiseru, which had developed into the number one production area in Japan, spread to cigarettes, and Yatate to fountain pens.

In addition, aluminum products spread rapidly from the end of the Meiji era, and the price of copper soared due to the First World War of 1918. At one time, more than 30 companies were forced to switch to other industries, and as a result, the copperware industry was inherited as traditional crafts such as vases and tea utensils, and the swallow industry was put into a major phase due to the changing times. It became.

The production of Western tableware has been carried out on various metalworking traditions. It all started when an order for metal Western tableware came in from a hardware wholesaler in Tokyo. When a swallow craftsman tried to make a fork, its reputation was not bad, and then a spoon was also made. In addition, we called 10 swordsmiths from Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, and succeeded in manufacturing knives. Behind these successes was the accumulation of traditional processing technologies such as copper drawing, rolling, engraving, polishing, and plating from the early modern period.

Swallow's metal western tableware developed as a completely export-oriented local industry, but soon after the Pacific War began, it was banned from production and forced to switch to the military industry.

After the defeat, the swallow metal western tableware industry, which did not suffer from war damage, still has equipment, and production resumed relatively quickly. Tsubame Western tableware was revived by receiving an order from the US military that occupied Japan, and succeeded in mass production of stainless steel Western tableware.

However, the 1959 US export restrictions will hurt swallows. However, Tsubame has survived this crisis by expanding its sales channels to Europe. After that, the Nixon shock, the oil shock, and the emergence of new rivals called NIES in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, etc., continued to be a difficult time for swallows, but swallows did not stop here either. We will overcome this pinch by developing domestic demand, developing new export markets, and developing the houseware sector. The sharp appreciation of the yen due to the Plaza Accord in 1985 forced a significant reduction in export quotas, but stable production for domestic demand put an end to this crisis. Since then, new technology has been introduced, and Tsubame Western tableware has once again developed as an export-type local industry and has established an international position.

 With the development of stainless steel processing technology, we started developing new products, and the metal houseware industry was born. Currently, as a major domestic production area, it accounts for about 90% of the national production value together with metal Western tableware.

Tsubame is known as a production center for Japanese nails, Kiseru copperware, files, kiseru, Yatate, etc., but the history of the Tsubame industry is said to be the "history of industry conversion", and the demand of each era. We have a history of producing and selling various products according to the situation.

Nowadays, utilizing excellent metal processing technology, diversification into all fields such as plastic products, automobile parts, sewing machine parts, metal miscellaneous goods, golf clubs, curve mirrors, agricultural machinery, precision machine parts, snow removal machines, etc. It is being carried out, and the future development of Tsubame's local industry is drawing attention.

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